Job Support Scheme

Job Support Scheme

This update is written and posted on Thursday 24^th September 2020 and will quickly become out of date once further details are known. We will endeavour to update it as soon as information becomes available.

The Chancellor has announced this morning that he is introducing a Job Support Scheme to start on 1 November.

Full details are not yet available but the Treasury has confirmed that it will apply where employees are working at least a third of their normal hours, although employees could work more than this.

Employers will pay staff for the hours they actually work. In terms of the hours they don’t work, that bill will be split 33% each between the employer, the government and the employee (who will have a shortfall of one third of the hours they are not working).

The Scheme will be available to SMEs. Larger business will only be able to take advantage of the Scheme if they can show turnover has dropped.

We await definitions of the following:

• What is classed as an SME
• What the level of drop in turnover is required for larger businesses
• Whether there is a maximum claimable per employee
• Whether the business can pay more than one third of wages
• What happens if an employee needs to self-isolate when working short time

As with the furlough scheme, it is likely that consent will be required to place employees on the Job Support Scheme. This may be done through the contractual right to vary the contract, or through actual consent.

If you have any specific questions, please e-mail reception@sherborneslaw.co.uk and we will try to cover the point when the answer is available.